Bengal Policy Hackathon
Introducing Bengal Policy Hackathon
co-organised by Bengal Development Collective and Public Policy Club, IIM Calcutta and deeply supported by our knowledge partner, Swaniti Initiative
Bengal Policy Hackathon is the playground for the public to participate in problem-solving, especially in the context of the developmental problems currently faced by the state of West Bengal
Event format:
Two screening rounds with different problem statements in both rounds across three relevant themes:
Round I: screening round where participating teams are supposed to submit a policy brief (not more than 1,400 words) online (example here)
Send in your submission on or before 07th January 11:59 PM IST to banglasunchey@gmail.com with the subject: <Team Name> | Round I | Bengal Policy Hackathon.
We will only entertain one submission per team; any one of the team members can make the submission. However, please make sure all the teammates have registered for the event.
Round II: candidates who made it through from Round I to draft a whitepaper (not more than 3,000 words) and do a physical presentation to a panel of eminent academics and practitioners at the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta on 22nd January 2023 (guest list coming out soon)
Rewards:
Cash prize of INR 14,000 for the winning teams, sponsored by IIM Calcutta
Opportunity for the top 2 teams to interview for internships/full-time roles at Swaniti Initiative
Access to Bengal Development Collective’s network of policy professionals
Set of three workshops for all participants, conducted by established professionals in this space , hosted by Bengal Development Collective:
6 PM IST, 26th December: Sharada Srinivasan, University of Oxford, The World Bank Group, Co-author World Development Report 2021: Data for Better Lives
6 PM IST, 27th December: Dhruv Pandey, The Education Alliance, Ex-Dalberg, ExTeach for India, Columbia University
7 PM IST, 28th December: Ishrat Gadhok, University of Oxford, Ex-FAO, Ex-KPMG, The University of British Columbia
Participation:
There are no participation fees for the event - it is free for all
Anyone can participate in this event - school/UG/PG students, working professionals, homemakers, unemployed people, etc.
Participants are encouraged to take part in teams of size less than or equal to 3; you can form teams with people from any institution
Round II will be strictly physical, hence it is encouraged for teams to participate only if they can make it to the venue on 22nd January 2023
Timelines:
20th December - 07th January: event registration
26th - 28th December: workshops on policy writing
7th January: Round I submission deadline (policy brief submission)
9th January: Round I results and Round II problem roll-out to selected teams
17th January: Round II submission deadline (whitepaper submission)
20th January: final deck submission which is to be used for the presentation on 22nd January, at IIM Calcutta
22nd January: Bengal Policy Hackathon finale
Guests:
Atri Bhattacharya, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary - Government of West Bengal, Ex-head of the National Jute Board, Executive Director of the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation
Prof. Runa Sarkar, professor of Economics at the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, Co-author: India Infrastructure Report (IIR) 2010 on Infrastructure Development in a Low Carbon Economy and IIR 2009 on Land - A Critical Resource for Infrastructure
Prof. Shameek Sen, Associate Professor at West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (Kolkata); Shameek specializes in Public Law disciplines like Constitutional Law and Media Law. co-editor: ‘Sports Law in India: Policy, Regulation and Commercialisation’ by Sage Publications, considered to be one of the leading Indian books on the subject
Amitava Gupta, Chief Sub-editor at ABP Limited, Ex-Indicus Analytics,
Asian Journalism Fellowship 2011 Fellow - Nanyang Technological University, M.A. in Economics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Join the WhatsApp community of policy enthusiasts that Bengal Development Collective is building (support group if you will):